Will This Take Care of F*&ing Gnats?

[BlindDate]

Been trying to eradicate these bastards for months. No Pest Strips (worthless), Gnatrol (worthless).
I read about covering the top layer with sand and thought that I would just seal the bastards inside the container, Oh, and I put a toy inside for them to play with (yellow sticky trap).
My concern is that the stalk will become very moist and rot. Do you think that will happen? Should I have used cloth or some fine mesh that will breath? Will this work at all or will they just adapt to their smaller world?

 

[guest5703]

damn not sure about that one bro, I mean if your plants roots cant breathe than that aint good. Sand is thick, but I think it would have been better than to just seal the pot completely. Let us know though how it turns out please!

 

[LiLWaynE]

have you tried mosquito dunks in your h2o? Spinosad?

 

[Hazyfontazy]

diatomaceous earth works well

 

[acehigh]

wot about the mosquito plug in things that u take on holiday with ya? Might be worth a try.

 

[~fvk~]

Gnatrol contains BTI, so it's pretty much liquid mosquito dunk. Perlite as a top layer is supposed to work well, and if you end up using screens, 125 LPI mesh should do it. I'd use diatomaceous earth before sand though. Fucking gnats dude.

 

[Hazy Lady]

Almost all oxygen in the root zone gets there, from air dissolved in the water itself, or the watering action having forced out stale air pulls fresh in as the medium finds its level and as water is used up by the plant fresh air flows in to fill the vacuum created. As long as the cover on your pot is porous enough to allow free flowing air you shouldn't have a problem, you could 'bubble' your water to boost the o2 content?.

 

[robbiedublu]

It's amazing how regularly these threads about fungus gnats come up. I'm gonna tell you the simple, 100% solution and believe me , i've tried everything. Predator gnats. I get mine from natures control. Those bastards will be gone in a few days after applying them. You can thank me later !

 

[LiLWaynE]

It's amazing how regularly these threads about fungus gnats come up. I'm gonna tell you the simple, 100% solution and believe me , i've tried everything. Predator gnats. I get mine from natures control. Those bastards will be gone in a few days after applying them. You can thank me later !

what happens to the predator bugs once they have finished off the annoying gnats? im assuming they die?

 

[*mistress*]

mix cap full of hydrogen peroxide + cap full of colorless iodine, into a 32oz/1 liter spray bottle. ph up to 7.0

apply every other day. to leaves and top of media...

will make for extermely hostile environment for pests...

and will oxidize all vermin...

will not harm roots or plant leaves either.

would not attempt the suffocation method... perlite as a top dressing severely discourages plant pests in media + adds degree of insulation to lower media.

h202+iodine literally makes them burn up from the oxidation. they will be gone in a week, never to return.

hope this helps. enjoy your garden!

 

[Milwaukee]

I don't think sand would work cuz they can live on the bottoms of your containers through the drain holes. I haven't had problems with fungus gnats in a couple years now and I just use a couple milliliters of Einstein's Neem Oil mixed with a couple drops of mild soap in a quart of water and spray weekly. When my plants are budding I spray around the base of the plant and my buckets, not spraying the buds obviously. This won't kill the existing gnats but it will keep them from breeding and they should die off quickly. Good luck.

 

[vinnythebat]

someone mentioned cinnamon in the organics, may work

 

[BlindDate]

Thank you guys, I would love to get some of those predators, but from where I am located, it's pretty much impossible. I will try to get some in a few weeks though.

I put a fine mesh screen in the sealed top so the coco can breath. What I am hoping will happen is to disrupt the gnats life cycle. Confined in such a small place, it's inevitable that eventually they'll land on the sticky trap. It also prevents them from flying around the room and doing whatever they do (what do they do?). I also started using SM-90. I've read some people say that it helps. Still have another 5 weeks flower so hopefully I'll kill enough to still get a decent yield.

Has anyone flushed with a Hydrogen Peroxide solution? Will that kill them without hurting the roots? What mix strength?

This is the new version using fine mesh.

 

[*mistress*]

Thank you guys, I would love to get some of those predators, but from where I am located, it's pretty much impossible. I will try to get some in a few weeks though.

I put a fine mesh screen in the sealed top so the coco can breath. What I am hoping will happen is to disrupt the gnats life cycle. Confined in such a small place, it's inevitable that eventually they'll land on the sticky trap. It also prevents them from flying around the room and doing whatever they do (what do they do?). I also started using SM-90. I've read some people say that it helps. Still have another 5 weeks flower so hopefully I'll kill enough to still get a decent yield.

Has anyone flushed with a Hydrogen Peroxide solution? Will that kill them without hurting the roots? What mix strength?

This is the new version using fine mesh.

flushing w/ h202 is prefered method... have used 1-3 cap full per gal. only ash wite...

others say use more:
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/gardening-with-hydrogen-peroxide.html

very good for aerobic microbes (the good 1's).

enjoy your garden!

 

[~fvk~]

Thank you guys, I would love to get some of those predators, but from where I am located, it's pretty much impossible. I will try to get some in a few weeks though.

I put a fine mesh screen in the sealed top so the coco can breath. What I am hoping will happen is to disrupt the gnats life cycle. Confined in such a small place, it's inevitable that eventually they'll land on the sticky trap. It also prevents them from flying around the room and doing whatever they do (what do they do?). I also started using SM-90. I've read some people say that it helps. Still have another 5 weeks flower so hopefully I'll kill enough to still get a decent yield.

Has anyone flushed with a Hydrogen Peroxide solution? Will that kill them without hurting the roots? What mix strength?

This is the new version using fine mesh.

Lol. The larvae eat at your roots but the adults don't seem to do much besides annoy the hell out of me and get stuck in my buds. Peroxide works pretty well, it'll kill the larvae and hopefully break their life cycle, so I'd definitely add it into your nutes if you aren't using organics. I don't think I'll ever be completely rid of them, but I don't see them all that much anymore either. Hope it works out for you man, gnats are a plague among growers.

 

[Lazyman]

Careful with peroxide, it's an oxidizer and will kill any microbes it touches if even a little strong. I had big proiblems with fungus gnats last run, I added mosquito dunks to the rezzies which helped, but I also made some panda plastic pot covers for my 2 gallon smartpots, and then of course GH comes out with these coco pot covers, the 8" ones fit the 2 gallon pots perfectly and will keep bugs out while allowing water and air to pass:

 

[Lazyman]

Oh and I read rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol works great as a soil drench for gnats, and won't harm roots but this would also kill beneficials too.

 

[BlindDate]

Update:

It seams to have worked for now. All the flyers are gone and when I look inside the pots, there are a whole lot of them on the sticky trap. The plants seem happier also.

 

[frankrizzo3]

H

 

[greenatik]

I've never gotten rid of them completely but I am able to keep their #'s really low to the point where I don't even notice them

capful of peroxide when I start noticing a lot of them. and I always have a few sticky traps around the pots. a few inches perlite on the top of your pot will also help. dont have open puddles or water sitting in trays, they will fornicate like a motherfucker; keep it as dry as possible